Oak Park and River Forest police reports - April 17-23

River Forest police find car on fire in Forest Preserve

River Forest police are conducting an arson investigation after officers found a car engulfed in flames early April 23.

Shortly before 2:30 a.m., police and fire units were dispatched to the 8000 block of Chicago Avenue where a gold 2000 Chevrolet Tahoe was fully engulfed in flames. Deputy Chief Craig Rutz said police officers notified the Cook County Forest Preserve Police because the car was found on a roadway that goes into the woods.

Officers didn't find any clear evidence of a crime upon searching the vehicle and surrounding area, Rutz said. Forest preserve police are investigating.

Theft

An unknown person removed a silver electronic pump, a silver metal pump, a grey air conditioning unit and a grey boiler unit from a rear yard in the 500 block of South Ridgeland Avenue April 11-16.

Someone removed a mailbox from the front of a residence in the 500 block of South Cuyler Avenue April 17. Estimated loss is $60.

An unknown person removed $140 in cash from a woman's unattended purse left in a common area of Cucina Paradiso in the 800 block of North Boulevard April 18.

Someone removed a red and black Virgin Mobile cell phone from the pocket of an unattended coat at TGI Friday's in the 400 block of Harlem Avenue April 18. Estimated loss is $50.

An unknown person removed a gold 2000 Saturn from a parking space in the rear of a building in the 400 block of South Maple Avenue April 18-19. Estimated loss is $2,100. It was recovered by Chicago police April 21 in the 100 block of North Kostner Avenue.

An unknown man was seen on West Suburban Hospital's video surveillance exiting a waiting room with a woman's purse April 19. The purse contained a leather Coach wallet with miscellaneous cash and credit and identification cards. Estimated loss is $400.

A 19-year-old student at Concordia University told police April 19 that someone took an iPhone that he left under clothing in a gymnasium during an open gym night activity. Estimated loss is $400. That same evening, another 19-year-old Concordia student told police that someone took his Concordia gym bag containing an HTC HD7 cell phone, Nike flip flops, university identification, keys and an Adidas jacket and pants from the same gym. Security officers located the bag with most of the contents behind bushes in another part of campus the next day, but the cell phone was missing. Estimated loss is $200.

A resident of the 7700 block of Madison Street told police April 22 that her locked white 26-inch Schwinn bicycle had been removed from behind her home. Estimated loss is $249.

Someone removed a brown wallet containing $13 in cash and miscellaneous credit cards and identification from a locked locker at the YMCA in the 200 block of South Marion Street April 21. Estimated loss is $38.

An unknown man approached a woman in the 100 block of North Cuyler Avenue from behind April 21 and grabbed her purse before he fled westbound in the North Lake Street alley. Estimated loss is $220.

Someone removed an Apple iPhone from a locker at Oak Park and River Forest High School in the 200 block of North Scoville Avenue April 16. Estimated loss is $300.

Criminal damage to property

Someone damaged the driver's side door of a 2009 Hyundai Accent parked in the rear lot in the 800 block of North Austin Boulevard April 15-16. Estimated damage is $200.

An unknown person ripped a 12-inch hold in a screen on the door of a building in the 600 block of Harrison Street April 14-17. Estimated damage is $150.

Someone used a sharp object to scratch the paint on all four doors and the hood and trunk of a 2012 Ford Taurus parked in the 1000 block of Fair Oaks Avenue April 5-12. Estimated damage is $3,000.

Burglary/attempted burglary

An unknown person removed a paint sprayer, a miter saw with a 12-inch stand and a girl's 26-inch white Trek bicycle from a garage in the 1000 block of North East Avenue April 15-16. Estimated loss is $1,550.

Someone entered a residence in the 500 block of North Harvey Avenue April 16 and removed miscellaneous gold and costume jewelry, two iPhones, an Apple laptop computer and a Honeywell Pentax camera. The offender also took a key to the victim's 1989 Volvo and ransacked the vehicle while it was parked in the garage. Estimated loss is $29,900.

An unknown person entered a locked file cabinet inside a locked office at the YMCA in the 200 block of South Marion Street April 13-16. The offender removed a key to a safe and money from the front desk area, but entry to the safe was unsuccessful. Estimated loss is $180.

Someone entered a residence in the 400 block of Berkshire Street April 17 after he told the resident he needed to check her pipes for the village. The woman stood in the basement while he banged on pipes, but someone removed jewelry and cash from upstairs. The offenders then fled westbound in a white, four door van. Estimated loss is $1,300.

An unknown person entered a 1996 Honda Accord by using a pry-type tool to bend the top half of the driver's side door while the vehicle was parked in the rear of the 600 block of North Taylor Avenue April 17. Once inside, the offender removed the vehicle's ash tray and three Bic lighters. Estimated loss and damage is $1,020.

Someone entered AP Deli in the 6300 block of North Avenue April 17-18 by breaking the glass on the front door with a rock. The offender ransacked the cash register area but nothing was missing. Estimated damage is $300.

An unknown person removed $700 in cash from a safe at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in the 600 block of West Randolph Street April 8-9.

Someone entered a residence in the 1000 block of Woodbine Avenue April 19 and removed three Dell laptop computers, an iPad 2, and iPod Nano and miscellaneous coins. Estimated loss is $3,825.

A resident of the 500 block of Clinton Place told police that an unknown person broke a basement window to get into the home March 10-April 15 and removed $600 in cash.

Members of St. Vincent Ferrer Church in the 7500 block of North Avenue discovered April 17 that two Shure MX microphones were taken from the sanctuary. Estimated loss is $400.

A 47-year-old Chicago man was arrested April 19 after police found he was in possession of a Toro trimmer that had been removed from a garage that morning in the 1200 block of Rossell Avenue. He was charged with burglary and possession of burglary tools. The man was also charged with theft after he was found to be in possession of pawn receipts that linked him to a burglary in the 800 block of Woodbine Avenue March 30.

These items were obtained from the Oak Park and River Forest police departments, April 17-23, and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in these reports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated.

Another thing, there is a lot of attention on Alton for this racist crime, but there has been little to no attention on his racist faceless 15 YO partner from Chicago. Let's not forget that there are 2 racist POS who committed this crime and that they are no better than the KKK who enslaved their ancestors. These 2 thugs are exemplary of a new brand of racists, ones who use their color as a shield from accusations of being racists, but they need to be called what they are, which are RACISTS!

Sick of racists

Posted: April 30th, 2012 12:29 AM

Matt, the killer is part hispanic with a little Jewish. That does not make someone white. The scary thing is Alton Hayes grew up in the affluent north west corner of Oak Park in a nice house, going through the Oak Park school system... So didn't exactly have the rough ghetto life that some African Americans have. His life is actually privalaged.where did he develop these racist beliefs? His parents? Friends? He is a racist, and has had many arrests before this.he dishonours Tayvon.

Matt Cordtwist

Posted: April 28th, 2012 9:40 AM

thought killer was maybe anglo with a name like zimmerman? maybe even jewish or mixed??

Sick of racist thugs

Posted: April 26th, 2012 11:22 PM

So, Alton Hayes targets a white teen because he was angry about the Trayvon murder? That makes him a racist AND an idiot, as he doesn't know the difference between a white person and a Hispanic person (Trayvon's killers ethnicity). I don't think that's what MLK meant when he talked about being color blind.

BeSeeingYou from Oak Park

Posted: April 25th, 2012 9:36 PM

24/7 camera surveillance would certainly help. It seems that the properties burglarized were certainly put under surveillance by the perpetrators (and their scouts?). Signed, BeSeeingYou

Violet Aura

Posted: April 25th, 2012 2:06 PM

An "unknown person" is someone who breaks into one's house when the victim is not at home or aware of the burglary. It is NOT when a person scams a victim by distracting her while another perp steals items from the home. But it was SO crucial for us to know that the color, year and make of the car stolen, not to mention all the other descriptors of stolen items. But loose perps? Nah. Heaven forbid that age, weight, skin tone, and hair color are mentioned. It's racist, I tell you!

MattCordTwist

Posted: April 25th, 2012 8:31 AM

I'm not the least bit amazed. The amount of reports are typical each week. affluent oak park borders one of the highest crime areas of the city and it is mostly easy pickings for the offenders with naive gullible victims. i personally and unfortunately would like to see discreet cameras everywhere.

Mud

Posted: April 25th, 2012 1:05 AM

Hold the pawn shops accountable for stolen items. Make it harder for thieves to unload stolen goods. We need harsher punishment for these crime to send a message these low lives. Thankfully residents weren't home during these burglaries, or there maybe even more tragic news. I'm amazed at the level of crime, especially considering it's not even warm out yet.

Facebook Connect

Please Enable JavaScriptFor All Site Features.

Answer Book 2016

To view the full print edition of the Wednesday Journal 2016 Answer Book, please click here.